


Date Night

by PanicAtTheEverywhere (DapperMuffin)



Series: Patton Adventures [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Cuddling & Snuggling, Date Night, Deceit is Damien, Dysphoria, Genderfluid Morality | Patton Sanders, Ice Cream Parlors, Multi, Museums, Patton and Thomas are siblings, Patton in a skirt, Polyamory, Stargazing, because I said so, cause i got like six pages of headcanons by now for this 'verse, hand holding, if that's okay i might write a fic on that later, movie date, possible hidden romantic subplot in this universe between Thomas Remy and Emile, slight dysphoria
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-14 18:36:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18482035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DapperMuffin/pseuds/PanicAtTheEverywhere
Summary: Patton's nervous about their first date with their boyfriends after coming out as genderfluid. Moreover, she wonders how they'd react if she showed up in a skirt.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> It's already 1K words and I'm lazy and live off comments/kudos and have no self-control, so I guess this'll be a little multi-chapter fic. I think there will be two or three chapters, I'm working on it right now.
> 
> Based off a little request from ThornRose: "The first thing that pops into my mind is date night and seeing Patton shifting through being he/she/they if that makes sense" and I worked in a vague idea I had about Patton in a skirt

Patton sighed.

 

It was time for their first date with their boyfriends after coming out as genderfluid (which had happened two days prior), and none of their clothes felt right today.

 

They ran out into the living room, skidding to a stop in front of their brother, Thomas, who was sitting on the couch, fuzzy-socked feet up off the floor, smiling at something on his phone.

 

“Thomas!” hollered Patton, even though he was right next to them. “Stop texting your boyfriends, I don't know what to wear for my date tonight!”

 

Thomas looked up from his phone, spluttering, “Patton! Remy and Emile aren't my boyfriends!”

 

“Yet.” Patton wriggled their eyebrows, and Thomas groaned into a nearby pillow. “Please, Thomas, I need your help.”

 

Thomas sighed. “Fine.” He loved his sibling, but sometimes they were just too much. “Let's see your wardrobe, then.”

 

Returning to their room, Patton pursed their lips, one hand on their hips as they considered their options. Thomas raised an eyebrow at the wide variety of clothing styles; he'd known Patton was genderfluid, since they'd told him after they told their boyfriends, but he hadn't realized that meant they'd wear _skirts_ now (not that he had a problem with it.)

 

“I don't see the issue, Pat,” Thomas began. Truly, he had no clue what they were looking for.

 

Patton sighed again. “Okay, no, so that's not the problem _exactly._ Uh, so… I'm feeling feminine today, but I've never worn a skirt in front of anyone except Roman since he helped me shop for them. I'm just nervous.”

 

Thomas grinned. “If Roman helped you shop, I have no doubt that it'll look great on you, okay? His fashion sense is spot-on.”

 

“You're right,” admitted Patton. “I don't need to worry.” She hugged her brother, throwing her arms around his neck, but then he eyes glazed over as she remembered. “Oh, shoot, I need someone to help me with my makeup. I haven't had the chance to get any of my own, what do I do, Thomas?”

 

“Fine, I'll text Roman,” Thomas conceded, sending Roman a quick text. “He says he'll be right over. Can I go now, Pat, or do you still need me?”

 

“No, you're good,” Patton beamed, and Thomas gave a small wave before returning to the couch.

  
  


Feeling rather satisfied with the outcome, Patton surveyed her outfit in the mirror. She'd color-coordinated her skirt with a barrette she'd used to pin back a piece of her bangs that fell in her eyes, and Roman had helped with the makeup. He stood behind Patton, hands on her shoulders as he smirked at her in the mirror.

 

“Thanks, Roman, I really like it,” she told him, and he dropped one hand to squeeze hers.

 

“I'm glad, it really suits you.”

 

Patton's deep, emotive eyes showed a glimmer of worry, and Roman was quick to reassure her. “If you're worrying about what the others will think, don't. They're going to love it… _Logan_ in particular.” Patton made a noise that sounded suspiciously like the offended sounds the taller of the two frequently made, jokingly punching Roman on the shoulder, and Roman laughed a deep chuckle that still made Patton's insides flutter as if they were full of butterflies.

 

 _...why had society chosen butterflies?_ Patton wondered. _Is it because they're pretty? Because nobody wants a moth near them, but wouldn't mind if a butterfly landed on their finger?_ Oh, shoot, she's distracted again.

 

“But seriously, Pat,” Roman said. “They love you, and they're going to love your outfit too.”

 

“I hope so,” Patton said with a little giggle as she looked up at her much taller boyfriend.

  
  


Patton would always treasure the pleasantly surprised look on Logan's face when she walked up to where he was waiting outside the theater.

 

Patton looked Logan up and down: the nerd was dressed in a long-sleeved white button-up this time, his tie a storm-gray to match his eyes. As Patton approached, Logan was fiddling idly with a black-banded watch he wore on his right wrist. He looked up when he heard Patton’s footsteps approach. One of his eyebrows was cocked, his gray eyes widened.

 

“You look nice,” Logan said, and he didn’t try to hide the small smile on his lips as he held out a hand for Patton to take.

 

Patton placed her hand in Logan’s. “Thank you.” Her smile was directed towards the bricks on the ground; she couldn’t make eye contact with Logan again, too embarrassed, but in a good way.

 

Roman stepped out from behind a pillar nearby where he’d been waiting. They’d arrived together, but Roman had opted to wait off to the side so that Patton could see Logan’s “amazing, precious reaction” in its “unstifled entirety,” whatever that meant, and now that it was over with, Roman had decided to pretend like he’d just gotten there.

 

“Hello,” he trilled, striding over to stand beside them as they waited for Virgil and Damien. He shot a surreptitious wink to Patton, who gave him a thumbs up where Logan couldn’t see.

 

“Greetings, Roman,” greeted Logan, going so far as to let the corners of his lips curl up slightly. It was unusual for the stoic, gray-eyed man to express much emotion, so it was always special when one of them managed to make him smile.

 

They didn’t have to wait very long; after a few minutes, Virgil and Damien turned the corner, chatting quietly yet cheerfully. Being the quieter, softer two, they tended to be one of the better pairing ups of the five, and seemed to have a lot in common.

 

Virgil was dressed in his usual outfit, complete with his decoratively-stitched purple jacket, black combat boots walking in perfect time with Damien’s black dress shoes. The latter was wearing his typically eccentric fashion sense, black bowler hat centered on his head, bangs combed so it covered his yellow-green eye. As Patton understood it, Damien didn’t like the attention he got when he left his eye uncovered, as it really was closer to a yellow than a green, and not only was heterochromia rare, a yellow eye was even rarer. Having too many people look at him made him uncomfortable.

 

The two finished talking a few feet before they reached Patton & co., and she smiled again as they stopped to take in her outfit. Damien gave a slow nod and Virgil gave a thumbs up, a lazy smile on his face, and Patton was filled yet again with an almost overwhelming love for her boyfriends.

 

Roman cleared his throat dramatically, and Virgil rolled his eyes. “Shall we go in, then?” Each of the five made varying noises of agreement, and together, they entered the theater.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked how this turned out! ^w^ In case you can't tell, each of them chose a different place to go to for the date, and the movie was Roman's idea.

On the way to their seats, Virgil had spilled his popcorn, so Patton had offered him some of hers, and now they were sitting next to each other so they could share the bowl. Meanwhile, one of Roman's arms had snaked around Logan's shoulders, and Logan was trying to pretend as though it hadn't happened so as to maintain his composure.

 

Virgil's's thoughts on the movie came in the form of wondering why they'd picked a cliche romance, whereas Logan secretly liked it. Roman's eyes were teary, as he'd always had a soft spot for love stories, while Damien simply watched quietly. However, Patton wasn't doing too well, as the sensation of her-no,  _ his _ now- chest tightening began to creep upon him.

 

Patton tried to focus on the movie again—some Asian dude dressed like a pirate was declaring his love for an Indian princess—but to no avail. The hum began to build in his ears, and he had to get out of there.

 

Abruptly, Patton stood, running out of the theater, ignoring his boyfriends’ whispered cries of his name. He beelined for the bathrooms—at least there he could be undisturbed—but found when he got there that there wasn't a third bathroom—only 'male’ and 'female,’ and he couldn’t, he just  _ couldn’t. _

 

Instead of entering one, Patton turned around and ran—where to, he didn't know, but he halted as he noticed a little nook of sorts behind a cardboard prop, and he squeezed himself into that nook, knees pulled up against his chest as he rocked forward and back.

 

His phone vibrated in his pocket to a pattern of  _ long-long-short, _ and Patton recognized the vibration pattern as that of Damien. Pulling his phone out to check, he read the message.

 

**[Dee <3] why'd you run out like that**

**[Dee <3] what's wrong pat**

**[Dee <3] where are you? Virgil said to check the bathroom since that's where he'd run to hide but I checked the men's and I don't think people would take kindly to me going into the women's**

 

Patton rested his head in his hands before replying.

 

**[Patton] behind the cardboard cutout of The Rock**

**[Dee <3] I see you**

 

A shadow appeared, and Patton looked up to see Damien looking down at them. After a moment he sat down next to Patton.

 

“So, sugar, what's the issue?” Damien didn't look at Patton as he spoke; instead his eyes traced the lines on the back of the cardboard, and Patton was suddenly glad Damien wasn't watching him.

 

Patton played with a loose string on the hem of his skirt. “I'm still wearing a skirt but I feel like a guy now, and I don't know what to do.”

 

“Hold on, I'm going to text Logan,” said Damien, pulling out his phone to type something. After a minute, his phone vibrated. “He's the closest to your size, and he says he's got an extra pair of pants in his car,” Damien informed Patton, who, once again, was very glad for his boyfriends. “He's going to bring it to you, and you can change into the pants, is that okay?”

 

“That's perfect, thank you.” Patton beamed. They were so close together now, and his eyes kept darting back to Damien's lips. He couldn't help himself. He caressed Damien's jaw, turning his face towards him, and they both leaned in as Damien closed his eyes.

  
  
  


Logan nodded as he spotted the cutout of The Rock Damien had mentioned, and he crouched next to it to see Damien and Patton locking lips.

 

“Guess Patton's not feeling too bad anymore.” The two broke apart at Logan's teasing tone, looking vaguely guilty. “Here.” He tossed the pants into Patton's lap.

 

“Thanks,” Patton said. Slowly, Damien stretched his legs as he got up, and then Patton crawled out from behind the cardboard.

 

He flashed Logan a grateful smile, but not without a sheepish demeanor.

  
  
  


Patton changed into the pants in a stall in the men's bathroom. He weighed the barrette in his hand for several minutes until finally slipping it into a pocket in case he wanted it later, but he kept the makeup on; Roman had done such a good job and he wasn't quite ready to wash it off yet.

 

When he emerged from the restroom, Patton found that not only were Logan and Damien waiting outside, but Virgil and Roman had joined them. Apparently the movie was over now.

 

They all stopped by Patton's car so he could drop off the skirt in the back, and then they headed to their next destination, which happened to be a surprise to everyone but Patton.

 

It was an old-timey, 50s-style ice cream parlor, complete with antique bar stools and booths. Roman exclaimed that it was “adorable” and Logan admitted he did like the “feel” of the place, whatever it meant when Logan said it.

 

Patton decided on a large bowl of chocolate ice cream, while Roman chose dulce de leche. After some debating, Logan eventually settled on green tea, Virgil got moose tracks, and Damien had butter brickle. (Logan had, of course, questioned the name of Damien’s choice of ice cream, and Roman had reminded him to “Loosen up, mi amor, it’s a date!”)

 

Somehow Roman had convinced Virgil to spoon-feed him his ice cream, and Virgil complied reluctantly for one spoonful, then went back to eating his own, even as Roman pouted that Virgil hadn’t done more. Patton quietly giggled as he watched.

 

Their third destination had been picked out by Logan, and happened to be an art museum. Logan had quietly admitted that he had a “secret soft spot for art,” since he himself claimed to be  _ far _ from ‘good’ at it. It may have been an unexpected choice for a date location, but Patton was sure they all enjoyed some part of it.

 

Roman took it upon himself to pose dramatically in front of every large landscape painting, and kept calling to Damien to take pics, who did, rolling his eyes every time. Meanwhile, Virgil seemed to have a liking for some of the darker paintings and color schemes, which was a surprise to no one. Patton enjoyed the bright colors on certain paintings, as well as the abstract. He kept noticing Damien, when Roman wasn’t calling him over to be photographer, reach out a few inches away from some of the people-filled landscapes to brush his fingertips against air, while Logan could only state clinically and sometimes in very disjointed sentences what he liked about certain pieces of art, particularly several of the more modern sculptures.

 

While everyone looked around the gift shop, Patton discreetly purchased little gifts for them. For Logan, a space pen with the museum’s name printed on it, he was sure Logan would find the particularly balanced pen intriguing. For Damien, he’d managed to find a miniature version of one of the pictures he’d been so longingly gazing at, while Virgil’s was a keychain shaped similarly to a statue he’d admired. Last, for Roman, he bought a T-shirt in his size that read, “I don’t make art | I AM art,” which he knew Roman would love. He stowed the bags in his car, and they drove to the fourth location; this time only taking two cars as opposed to three.

 

It was dark out when they reached Virgil’s destination, and Patton could only gape at the brilliance of the stars, to the point where he tripped on his way up the hill. At the top, Virgil unrolled a large blanket he’d retrieved from his car, and they all picked a spot to lay down. Patton was in the center, Logan and Virgil on either side, with Roman next to Logan and Damien next to Virgil. 

 

Patton, quite lost for words, gazed, amazed, up at the dark blanket of sky stretching out above them, marred only by the shining dots of stars freckling the navy blue expanse. Nights like this reminded him how small he was in the general scale of things, but all the same, he knew there were people who cared for him, to whom he meant a lot, and he smiled softly as he made out the quiet murmuring between Roman and Logan. Virgil’s warm hand slipped into his own, a sharp, yet somehow welcome, contrast from the chill air surrounding them, and Patton felt at peace, even as he felt himself slipping into ‘they.’

 

The last place they were going to go to was Logan’s house, courtesy of Damien. Logan’s family was fairly wealthy, so his house was huge, completely surrounded by wrought-iron fences, and Patton, despite having been there before, was still surprised that there weren’t gargoyles perched on the roof, guarding the house, ready to defend it if some unsavory person were to enter.

 

That was how the five ended up in Logan’s living room, cuddling on his couch, rewatching Parks & Rec for Patton’s sixth time on a TV wider than any of them was tall. There was easily more than enough space for them to spread out on the couch, but still, they chose to be close, packed in like sardines. Virgil’s hand was resting on Logan’s thigh, much to his distraction, and Patton was sitting in Roman’s lap, while Damien sat between Virgil and Roman, holding hands with both.

 

When Virgil fell asleep on Logan’s shoulder, Patton decided it was time to go to bed, and they all ended up curling up together in a gay mess of limbs in Logan’s gigantic, probably-expensive, rich-guy bed.

 

And Patton knew they would never be happier than in times like these, when each of their boyfriends was content, when they could all just be carefree and in love, and they hoped nothing would ever come between them and that ‘happy ending’ to their fairytale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also yES in case you didn't catch it, Roman is fluent in Spanish and has a different romantic Spanish nickname for all of them, his nickname for Logan is in this chapter.
> 
> You find out how well you know your characters when you have to figure out what kind of ice cream they'd order ;-; I thought I knew everything about my headcanons for these guys.
> 
> spEAKING of my headcanons, here's my Google Doc in case anybody's curious just HOW in-depth I am about these characters https://docs.google.com/document/d/12EfpadyGPiADcJwvnezQ2ZsBk4HPyv95Etg6cLYaOIc/edit?usp=sharing


End file.
